Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Feedback for the mainline campaign Delfador’s Memoirs.

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GagarinGambit
Posts: 51
Joined: February 2nd, 2011, 12:36 pm

Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by GagarinGambit »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Hard, 1.8.4

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
2. At first I thought that this is going to be epic, but after retreating behind the ford, the orcs and the undead annihilated each other :( Delfador didn't even had to recruit anything other than a couple of scouts and a few fighters, meant to delay my retreat. In addition, I'm about to carry an insane amount of gold in the next scenario - at least I see it's going to be needed.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
They're not clear at first, but you learn what you need to through dialogue, and in my opinion that's better.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
It's pretty good, and it helps to give you the feeling you're moving into unknown dangers. In general, the dialogue is significantly improved during the last few scenarios and it's becoming one of the strengths of this campaign.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Unfortunately, none... oh, the ambushes were tough, but in the long term I don't believe they make any difference (and I shouldn't have reloaded because of them...)

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
6. Until I reached the castle south of the ford (where I intended to make a stand), it was like omg, that's epic! I was moving south, into an unknown situation, and the dialogue contributed to this feeling; meeting the loyalists was also interesting, and gave the feeling of being besieged; the scripted events increase the fun; facing level 2 and 3 opponents suggested a really challenging battle. However, afterwards I was attacked only by a handful of wraiths/ghosts, and a few turns later I was able to step out and kill the two leaders at my leisure - they were left on they're own, with almost no troops.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
The retreat behind the ford strategy shouldn't make it that easy. So I suggest 1. make the undead stronger and the orcs weaker (so if they do clash, the undead will prevail and come for you, albeit somewhat weaker) 2. make Delfador and Chantal priority targets for both opponents.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
No

I'm attaching a replay, in order to illustrate how easy this can be. Note this was my first playthrough, and I used the save-reload cheat only to avoid the first two ambushes.
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Pewskeepski
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by Pewskeepski »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Challenging, 1.9.4 (240 gold)

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario?
7: Okay, the campaign has gotten difficult 8)

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
It told me to "Defeat all enemies" twice, and I assumed (correctly) that I had to just defeat the leaders.

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

Chantal: "This is the nearest human garrison, Delfador. Here is the only place to cross the river... etc, etc, etc..."
Why is the elf telling the Wesnothian all about Wesnoth?

Chantal: "There should be no orcs this far south. But I do not like the feel of this mist."
This kinda sounds like she's saying the orcs are causing the mist... Maybe she could say "Iliah-Malal's minions shouldn't be this far south, but I don't like the feel of this mist."

Unit: "What is going on here? This village has been burned to the ground!"
Chantal: "Maybe there are survivors? We should check."
This should happen on the village closest to you keep, it should be switched with the spear man spawning village.

Delfador: "They have unleashed a second wave. Soldiers, stand firm and send these abominations back to the darkness!"
Where? I don't see them? :P

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
Bad guys coming at you from all sides.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is?
8: A really good battle :D

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
There was a boring march to the enemy leaders, so some sorta trap when you get close to them, or more villages around their camps would probably do the trick.

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

(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
It's good.

(10) How well done did you find the map for the scenario?
I really thought this map was poorly done, sorry, but I did. The fact that it's randomly fall is not good, the flat plains of grass connected with clouded snow covered mountains is not good, the castle being made completely out of keeps is not good, the random swamp in the east is not good, and the random strips of forest, field, and big trees are not good. :augh:
EDIT: I decided to touched up the map, and if anybody like to have a look at; Here it is.
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podbelski
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by podbelski »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
1.9.8, top difficulty, 300gp, no reloads

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
"5". As the others, I expected a rough fight but everything ended in 3-4 turns. I settled in the walls and noone was able to pass through.

(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?
ok, but on the 2nd turn there were talks about abominations, don't understand what do they mean... and talks about 2nd wave were a bit strange - how did they see? Also, I expected that there will be both undead and orcs launch the 2nd wave.

There were too many talks in the end, add to this the beginning of next map is also quite word-happy. Was annoyed a bit reading through everything.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
nothing "major"

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

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
not sure

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
reloaded on turn 3 when my elvish lady unleashed an orcish ambush.

The replay is BROKEN
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Ninjuri
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by Ninjuri »

Normal 1.10.2
Difficulty:8 (but i think i shot myself in the foot, i'll explain.)
Objectives: 100% clear, but how to go about doing them a little less clear.
Dialogue: Good, especially the little explanations given by the individual units.
Challenges: I think i went about doing this all wrong. Before making a single move, i looked all around the map, and saw the swamp castle, the mountains encampment, and the broken castle at the river. Putting the pieces together, i figured that the river fort was broken because it was under siege by orcs and undead, and that i would come in behind them and help my allies sandwich their attacking armies. Under this logic, i fanned out and sprung village traps, and headed for the enemy castles to take out their leaders. I ended up fighting a very close battle, relying heavily on forests and shamans, taking the entire orc and undead army down. I then killed the orc leader, and was heading south-east, when delf finally hit the invisable tripwire that lets me get over 9000 leveled human units up and down the fort. Then it sats to send a unit outside the sight range of the mages into their range to wake them, which i didn't understand.I had a few archer spawned right next to them, so i just moved one of them one space over to a village, then suddenly the mages were mine. Now that i had all these guys, I got even more leveled guys by going into villages. None of the humans got to kill more than a single undead though because by that time i had wiped out both armies with my small elvish party and were just about to take down the undead leader as well. So i'm left feeling like i wasted a bunch of good units that could have made this whole ordeal a whole lot easier.
Fun: 7
Changes: Some incentive or enticement for me to go to the fort before taking on the armies of orcs and undead, so i don't get all the good units when it's too late.
Reloads: Had to reload a few times because cleo kept dying, since i used her as part of the front line, because i thought i was only fighting with my small elvish band.
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flammstrudel
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by flammstrudel »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
1.10.3 hard (Great Mage - Difficult)
354 gold

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
6

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
It's not so clear how important it is to get to the fortress asap. The first enemies a player will probably encounter are orcs. I actually tried to get rid of them immediately and triggered the castle dialogue way to late. Stress this task somewhere in the starting dialogue or make it an explicit objective.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
The orc forces weren't a big problem. It was, however, harder to control the fortress situation. Once your mage squad (or main force) arrives it gets almost trivial though.

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

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I suggest adding a third wave to make the final trip to the Deathknight less easy. The AI recruits to much Nightgaunts, but it doesn't know how to use them, replace them with Spectres, these are more versatile. Spawn events in villages should be randomized, the player should get informed what might happen if he captures one (the loyal spearman from the first village could allude to it). Right now it works out this way: Wesnoth player moves scout to village, 3 undead units are spawned, the scouts gets terribly murdered. The player restarts the scenario, places his death ball around the village, then captures it and plays whack-a-mole. Static spawn positions also reduce the replay value, which is a shame, because this is an awesome mission. Add objective: Human Commanders needs to survive.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
Village monsters killed scout, I restarted from turn 1.
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D-Wade
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by D-Wade »

1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
1.10.7 - Normal

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
7 - I did not think that there were orcs coming after me from the left side, so I mainly concentrated on the undead and had to split my forces later on. That prolonged the fight and made it a bit more difficult. But it's okay.

(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 interesting, especially the "waking up" of the Mages.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
The challenge was to fight on both sides at the same time, while also trying to move forward.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
8 - Finally something different. But also a rather big jump in difficulty compared to the previous levels.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Give the player a hint about the importance of the castle. Perhaps let Delfador point you towards the castle in the hopes of finding some survivors.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
Two times: Delfador got killed once and the final reload was used for splitting the XP as good as possible (stupid shaman did not want to kill the leader to level up even though there was a 75% chance).
DewyB
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by DewyB »

I read the Wiki strategy guide for this scenario and it implied the orcs and undead would fight.

That's not the case in 1.13.6 and it makes this scenario VERY difficult on Normal.
Tell me again, where are we going, and why are we in a handbasket?
devavrata
Posts: 119
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by devavrata »

Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Battle for Wesnoth 1.8.3, Easy/Medium, Battle for Wesnoth 1.10.7 Hard.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
8
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Clear
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Clear, a bit too long -- specially at the end, when Delfador thinks about going back to help the king.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
The uncertainty. Enemies are coming out of the mist from different directions, it is hard to get an idea about what is going on.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
Just 6 - it is difficult to develop an strategy because of the uncertainty.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Some commented on the orcs and the undead fight each other in case of retreating to the south side of the ford. That's never an option for me, I want to get the maximum possible experience - but I see nothing wrong with having this choice, it looks smart to me.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
No
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
-
LordWolfDan
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by LordWolfDan »

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

- 1.14.5, Normal

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

- 6

(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?

- Nice and smooth. The mist already shows something is not right and when you meet up the survivor of one of the destroyed villages, it further pumps up the tension. Looks like I'll have to deal with orcish menace right now, right?

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

- Standing ground against higher level undead 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?

- Nothing comes to my mind

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

- No

(9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?

- No
SigurdFireDragon
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by SigurdFireDragon »

Thanks for the feedback
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Konrad2
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by Konrad2 »

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

Great Mage (Difficult), 1.14.7

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

4

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

Very clear.

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

Clear enough, but it's odd that he can't recruit human soldiers once the garrison joins him. Same for the mages.

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

None.

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

5

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

Allow Delfador to recruit loyalist once the garrison joins him and mages once the mage school joins him.

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

No.
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Zrevnur
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Re: Scenario 12: Terror at the Ford of Parthyn

Post by Zrevnur »

Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm 1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?
Wesnoth 1.14.11, hardest: 'Great Mage' (difficult), no reloading during campaign; played the scenario several times
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
5 (in comparison with rest of campaign, with partial knowledge of the scripting)
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Technically they are clear. But knowledge of the scripting gives too much of an advantage in this scenario. Its very unfair to first time players - and potentially fatally so.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Ok. A bit silly with the mages maybe.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
None.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
4
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Fix the problem that knowing the scenario beforehand is required for a fair challenge. Otherwise this is very unfair as unwittingly making a bad move can get you killed. I dont think this befits a proper strategy game. If there would be some understandable rule based mechanics instead of totally arbitrary scripting it would be better.
-
Getting rid of the 80% or nothing scheme (without even telling the player how much the next scenario starting gold default is) would help. While I dont think the plus-40% scheme is good its IMO at least better than the one used in this campaign.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?
No.
Content Feedback wrote: May 22nd, 2009, 11:17 pm (9) If you know a bit of the Wesnoth Markup Language - do you think that the WML of this scenario is clear and well commented? If not which part would you like to be documented better?
(Didnt look at the WML.)
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